How Florida Chiropractors Refer Accident Patients for TBI Testing

Many accident patients come into a chiropractic office with neck and back pain, along with headaches, fogginess, or trouble sleeping. Those other symptoms may point to a concussion that was never documented. Braintree Health Partners lets Florida chiropractors refer for objective brain injury testing without adding equipment or staff.

1. Spot the patient

Keep an eye out for headaches, dizziness, light sensitivity, irritability, memory or focus complaints, and sleep changes after a crash. A short symptom screen at intake picks up most of these. See our provider checklist.

Why concussions get missed in chiropractic offices

Accident patients usually arrive talking about what hurts most: the neck, the low back, a shoulder that struck the door. Cognitive symptoms are quieter. A patient may not connect a shorter temper, trouble reading, or poor sleep with the crash, and may not think a chiropractor would want to hear about it. Meanwhile the intake form is built around musculoskeletal complaints. The result is that a possible brain injury goes undocumented for weeks, sometimes until an attorney or a family member brings it up.

The fix doesn't require turning your practice into a neurology clinic. It takes a few consistent screening questions, a low threshold for referral when symptoms persist, and a partner who can carry out objective testing without disrupting your schedule.

Building the screen into your intake

Add five or six questions to your accident intake and ask them again at re-exams. Since the crash, have you had headaches? Dizziness or balance problems? Trouble concentrating or remembering? Sensitivity to light or noise? Changes in sleep? Changes in mood that you or your family have noticed? Ask the patient to rate each one. Keep a record of the answers at every visit so you can see whether symptoms are improving, holding steady, or getting worse. That trend is often what makes a referral clearly appropriate.

What a good referral includes

The more context you give, the more useful the report. Include the date of injury, how it happened (rear-end, side-impact, fall), whether the patient remembers striking their head, the symptoms you've documented, and any relevant history such as earlier concussions or migraines. You don't need to have reached a conclusion. Referring for testing is how you get objective information.

What your staff will notice

Front-desk teams usually ask how much work this adds. Our scheduling team coordinates directly with your office, and testing can be grouped so several referred patients are seen in one visit. Your rooms, schedule, and normal patient flow keep running. When the report arrives, it goes into the chart like any other diagnostic result.

2. Send the referral

Fill out the referral form with the patient's details, date of injury, and the symptoms you're concerned about. You can also call 813-709-3771.

3. We schedule at your office

We coordinate with your front desk. Testing takes place in your practice, so the patient doesn't have to go anywhere new. Some practices group several referrals into a single testing day.

4. Physician-reviewed report

Results are put together in a report that a physician reviews, and it is delivered to you, the treating provider. If findings call for it, we can coordinate further specialty evaluation.

5. You keep treating

Braintree does diagnostics only. We don't take over care. We diagnose. You treat.

Common questions

• Do I need to buy anything? No. The equipment and technician come to you.
• Does this replace an ER visit? No. Send any patient with red-flag symptoms to emergency care.
• Coverage and billing? We cover this on a 15-minute briefing.

Become a provider partner or book a 15-minute briefing.